Research
Adherence
Exercise improves quality of life (physical and mental summary scores) in patients with intermittent claudication.
Exercise helps you feel better mentally and physically. Studies show that after six months of exercise, patients report better physical function and mental well-being. This is a key benefit of sticking with an exercise program.
GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
At six months, meta-analysis showed improvement in 'physical summary score' (MD 2.15, 95% CI 1.26 to 3.04, P = 0.02, 5 trials, 429 participants, moderate-quality evidence) and in 'mental summary score' (MD 3.76, 95% CI 2.70 to 4.82, P < 0.01, 4 trials, 343 participants, moderate-quality evidence) secondary to exercise.
Why this rating
Evidence is 'moderate quality' with some heterogeneity.
Source
Exercise for intermittent claudication
Risha Lane et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2017
DOI 10.1002/14651858.cd000990.pub4
Meta-analysis · 32 studiesCited 820×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Structured exercise programs significantly improve maximum walking distance and pain-free walking distance in patients with intermittent claudication compared to usual care or placebo.Strong
- Exercise does not improve the Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) in patients with intermittent claudication.Good
- Exercise does not reduce mortality or amputation rates in patients with intermittent claudication.Moderate
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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